More About This Resource
These NO PREP, printable and digital word ladder activities are aligned to the science of reading and will help kindergarten, first and second grade students the master phonics skills and spelling patterns you teach. This resource includes 42 word chains / ladders that can be used all throughout the year. They make an engaging independent literacy center and a meaningful phonics activity for small group instruction. They make a great addition to any word study routine.
These word ladders require students to think critically to figure out the next word to build using the letter or picture clues. They change just one letter to build a new word. As they manipulate the phonemes, students receive immediate feedback using these self-checking phonics activities.
⭐SAVE TIME!! This NO PREP resource has been PRELOADED for you, with 1 click add them to your Seesaw library or Google Drive, then assign to your students!
This resource includes both printable and digital word ladders that will last you the entire year! The digital version has a slider for students to self-check their work. Also included are answer keys to print out and keep in a basket for students to be able to self-check while working on the printable worksheets (color & b/w included).
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42 color Word Ladders -laminate or put in sheet protector for instant literacy center
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42 black & white student printables
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42 Google Slides digital word ladders with self check
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42 preloaded Seesaw word ladders with self check
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short a
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short e
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short i
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short o
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short u
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mixed review short vowels
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l blends
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r blends
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s blends
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final blends
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ch, sh
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th
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ng, nk
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CVCe a_e, i_e
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CVCe o_e, i_e
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CVCe u_e
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ai, ay
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ee, ea
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oa, ow
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_y, igh
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ar
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er
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Ir
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or, ore
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short oo
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long oo
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ow
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ou
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oi, oy
See what other teachers are saying about these Word Ladders / Word Chains Phonics Activities:
“Fantastic resource. Multiple uses. Aligned with the science of reading. Excellent use with small groups and independent work. Definitely recommend.”
“I love using word ladders with my students as an intervention activity, a practice activity, or just for a fun workshop! They are great for students at all levels and are lots of fun!”
“My students loved these! I have found word chains to be very effective for struggling readers. I love the different levels of difficulty, which allows me to challenge the students who find word chaining easy.”
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Kristin H. –
This was a fun activity with my students. They enjoyed it.
Megan V. –
This is a great way for students to practice both decoding and encoding. They love it!
Katherine C. –
Such a fun and effective word work activity! These word ladders keep my students engaged while building spelling, phonics, and vocabulary skills. Easy to prep and perfect for morning work, centers, or early finishers. I’ll definitely be using these often!
Karen R. –
Fun and engaging spelling practice for multiple grade levels! Digital and print options are a huge plus. Highly recommend this bundle!
Briana D. –
This is yet another great resource to keep in a word work center or to use as a warmup in small groups. Just print out the word ladders that align with the current skill being taught and put them in plastic sleeves to be reused. Minimal prep is an added bonus!
Kacey Granley –
I use this as an extension from my morning meeting. We build a word ladder each morning to start the day!
paige grant –
My students really enjoyed this resource. Once they got the hang of how to do it, they would get excited when I would put it out for them to work on either as morning work or center time.
Karen F. –
This is a great resource for small group time. I put each page into a sleave so it can be used over and over again.
Kathleen D. –
Word ladders are a great way to have students practice spelling and manipulating sounds to make words. The font and pictures make this a student friendly resource!
Sara K F. –
Students love these fun word letters and they focus on skills being taught
Jessica P. –
These word ladders are a great way to keep students engaged. They are a fun way to improve phonics skills, spelling and vocabulary. Really gets students thinking.
LovingTheLiteracy –
This is exactly what I needed! The amount of word ladders you’ve created is so helpful and the picture clues are a game changer!
Rachel G. –
My students love using these word ladders. We started by doing a few together to practice and then they like to try on their own or with a partner. I will use them as a daily 5 rotation for word work, too. I use them with kindergartners but I like that there are 1st and 2nd grade level words to challenge those who are ready.
Susan W. –
Word Ladders are such a fun way to reinforce the skills we are learning in our UFLI lessons. The kids see the connections and it’s a great visual of which sounds change in each word.
Emma T. –
Perfect activity that saved me time from prepping myself
Jessica F. –
This was a great resource- my intervention kiddos loved it. Thank you!
Erica V. –
Fun–and very valuable–practice activity for literacy centers!
Lindsey S. –
My students enjoy using this resource and I find it very easy to use! Thank you! 🙂
Keshya T. –
My first graders loved this resource! The activities were engaging and fun! Thanks for creating something so useful!
Alli L. –
This is great practice for my special education students!!